Nearly 200 non-profit charities benefit from food the Foodbank collects, such as shelters, soup kitchens, emergency pantries, day care centers for low income families and youth programs for children at risk.

Each month, Clevenger says, the Foodbank distributes food valued at more than $175,000.

The Foodbank depends on canned food donations, as well as monetary donations to help pay to transport, sort and warehouse donated food.

On Monday, the Boy Scouts of America will hold its annual "Scouting for Food" campaign. Every issue of the Monday Daily Press and The Times-Herald will contain a brown paper grocery bag with instructions about the food drive. The public is asked to fill the bags with canned food for door-to-door pick-up by the Boy Scouts and volunteers between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Nov. 17. All food collected will go to the Foodbank for distribution.

The bags were provided by Farm Fresh supermarkets, and the bags were folded by employees of the Sarah Bonwell Hudgins Regional Center in Hampton. For those who miss the scheduled pick-up, all area Farm Fresh supermarkets have collection bins for deposit until Jan. 5, 1991.

"This food drive provides us with prime, non-perishable food to help stock area pantries," Clevenger says.

Canned items requested include soup, chili, beef stew, vegetables, tuna, fruit, meats and juice. The public is asked not to include perishable, frozen or homemade food, or food items in glass or carton containers.

Sponsors assisting in the "Scouting for Food" campaign also include the United Way of the Virginia Peninsula and local businesses. For more information, call the Foodbank of the Virginia Peninsula at 596-7188.